[Nexus] AMEN XLV: The Zoo

[ThirdEmperor]

Meeting Room

"Uhm, I'd be all for that and all, except.... Well, we already know each other and we sorta know the plan, so it's a little late."

The Cat Burglar sighs, doing his best to avoid meeting Roxanne's gaze. Gog he hates having to argue.

"This contracter... He's trustworthy, professional. Er, I don't even think he could betray us, outside of, y'know, telling someone about the contract. As far as I know, he doesn't have any power over us except enforcing the terms, so, uh, if we write it up airtight we shouldn't have any trouble."

[Zefir]

[Meeting Room]

Zefir shrugs again. He just tries to improve that plan. Than someone mentions the contract.

"I agree with Roxanne. Such a person would hold much power in hand. We can't say he won't be able to abuse it."

Then he turns to the Cat Burglar.

"Since it seems your the only one who knows him, I think we can't take your word for it. After all you can tell us everything. We can't proove if it's right or wrong."

Then he turns back to Illophen.

"So if you need my service in this plan, as I can't see it now, just tell me. The things that need to be done for it aren't my profession."

[ThirdEmperor]

Main Room

Zefir sit's near the couch. a bag right next to him.

Tipping his hat to Zefir, the Cat Burglar sits down on the couch beside him.
"Hey, uh, Zef. You got the bomb?"

[Mindfreak]

Meeting Room
The owl looked at Ilpholin.
"I'll get to work on something immediately."
And then the owl falls silent.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Meeting Room]

Timewarp gogogo! Kal is, of course, here, and has been here the whole time. For the most part leaning against a wall all pretty like in his tight jeans and white tee, toying with his hat in his hands as his tail flicks back and forth in mild amusement at some of the things said in the room. Becky gets a positive twitch as she mentions Pink, though he glares slightly at Nephrim whenever she makes a suggestion, especially when Dam'Bul gets chosen as the zombie-mind. Other than that, though, he contributes nothing so far save his presence. His skills are... shall we say, slightly less 'specialized' than the rest of the AMENites in the room, and he can't really add much to a 'plague city then cure' plan, unless of course they find a way to transmit the disease by punching people in the face.

[happyturtle]

Meeting Room

The Moffs switch to ogling Kal, on the grounds that he's so rarely out of deadtime these days, that they need to get their ogling in when they can.

[Reinholdt]

[Outside of Ilpholin's Office]

Ilpholin likes her automatic door function. Makes her seem like she's always watching.

Clarrissa's going to basically get told all the same things Becky was about the whole situation, except maybe the hatred of males comment.

Meeting

Ilpholin waves her hand a little. "Don't worry about the contract guy Cat Burglar. It'd never work. Even if you could write it up airtight, you'd never get everyone here to agree to it. I just wanted people to speak up about it."

"I think we all know our roles here at this point. Shayan, get to work on developing the creepers. Dam'bul goes with her. Use whatever henchmen you need to for your tests, live or dead."

"Isabelle, get the vermin carriers prepared."

"Magtok will prep the pharmacy and work to get a portal system in place."

"Cat Burglar will contact mob people and get the area set up before hand for our arrival."

"Everyone else either needs to be helping one of these people with their jobs or preparing themselves for when we arrive to defend both the area, but mostly defending whatever cure we end up having stockpiled from anyone who'd try to get it. Roxanne's right, it will need to be heavily guarded."

"Get to work people. Best way to get this done right is to get it done quickly." Ilpholin says as she stands.

[happyturtle]

Main Room

If Ilphy has a plot clone to spare, Darcy could use help with the Koro stand-off.

*glaaaaaare*

[Zefir]

Meeting

Zefir nods and, if this is the end of the meeting he wil go away. Nothing of the task Ilpholin called are anything he can help so he can be found on the couch after the meeting.

[Main Room]

Independent of the meeting Clone Zefir is here holding up a bag.

"Yes I have, but my name is Zefir, not Zef."

He will still hold the bag up, not offering it to CB.

"I think we missed to talk about what I get for it?"

[Earl of Purple]

Meeting Room- Afterwards

"If you want test subjects of other species, I can help you collect them." This is said to Shayan, as Nephrim feels she's currently most useful gathering additional test subjects of non-human breeds. "Don't worry, I won't get them from anywhere that will be noticed, at least not by a major faction that might be able or willing to investigate." One or two people brainwashed into following her from their villages, mainly.

[Reinholdt]

Main Room

Ilpholin is plot cloned for a time.
She looks at the sleeping cubs. "Awww... they're so cute."

"I don't think your family should stay in the Main Room though Koro. This was voted most likely Nexus room to explode five years running."

[Gullara]

[Main Room]

Koro gives a low growl, but he doesn't even look up at Ilpholin. He is a grumpy bear. It's almost be cute if he wasn't so huge. As is, it's probably more potentially dangerous than anything.

[Hattish Thing]

Ilpholin's Office

"Very well." Ilpholin will offer Clegg a form to fill out.

Clegg nods.

Spoiler

Show

Name: Cap'n Clegg Thenadier
Age: I can't seem to recall.
Sex: Male
Species: Sea Ghoul. Or something.
Profession: Pirate, Bounty Hunter, Ex-HALOite, Ex-Inspector
Reason for joining AMEN: I think AMEN is a good way to get back at the damned HALOites. Mostly Tobias. Plus, killin' and pilferin' is pretty much all I do these days.
Special skills/items you believe will aid/have decided to contribute to AMEN: Well, soon a ship (Big one, attack vessel, can fly. Just....not yet.) I can sneak through most security. I can feign myself off as goodish, I got plenty of combat skills, I scare people, can survive underwater, just reform, can write run-on sentences. Stealthy as well as a good combatant. Good with negotiatin'. When I'm not hungry.
References (Victims preferred): Reinholdt (Killed 'im), Civvy Vulpan (Stabbed her.), Marty Aceford (Hunted), Luka, Xan'dar'ef family, Romeo and Elio, and that fighter lady...(Fought and almost won, in a revolution of Cylar.), few others his player can't seem to remember...()
Past Experience: Inspector, force of good. (Twenty-two years.), Priest of Medee, (Five Years). Pirate, (Since I died).
Other Information: Undead, Hated by HALO.

I finished, no' wot?

[Jacklu]

Magtok's Office - The Incident

That did astonishingly more damage than Cyrus was expecting, actually. Powerful spellcasters usually have defenses against things like evil lightning to the face. Cyrus certainly does, as evidenced by the fact that the previous lightning bolt did astonishingly little to seriously harm him.

"So will you."

Frowning, the sorcerer quickly lifts a hand to divert the fires around him, though the effort of doing so has prevented him from making a proper counterattack. The sudden attack caught him slightly off-guard, and only quick thinking prevented him from getting roasted just now. The Zombies, on the other hand, are reduced to ash. They're not meant to be fighting epic spellcasters.

Hellfire's astonishingly difficult to defend against, really.

((Still waiting on Murkus))

The Hellfire lets up slowly. For an epic spell caster, Sol hasn't been doing a ton of meaningful damage over this fight.

Sorry, hold on. I'm having a bit of trouble channeling properly.

Hellfire sputters out of his hands and he grumbles to himself as he shakes them a bit to try to get it going again.

One moment and I'll have this all cleared up and ready to go...

[The Bushranger]

Becky exits the meeting room, sighing, and heads in the general direction of the kitchen.

[happyturtle]

Spoiler

Show

Main Room

Ilpholin is plot cloned for a time.
She looks at the sleeping cubs. "Awww... they're so cute."

"I don't think your family should stay in the Main Room though Koro. This was voted most likely Nexus room to explode five years running."

[Main Room]

Koro gives a low growl, but he doesn't even look up at Ilpholin. He is a grumpy bear. It's almost be cute if he wasn't so huge. As is, it's probably more potentially dangerous than anything.

The henchmen load up Sadie and the cubs on massive dollys to be dragged down to the Catwalk lair. How they'll get along with the Catwalks is anyone's guess.

Or did the Catwalks all leave with Gordon? I don't remember.

Darcy sighs. "He's not having it. He doesn't like his cubs, and smacks them around when they get into his gold, then Sadie smacks him around for smacking them around." It's almost as if neither bears nor dragons have natural paternal instincts!

Meeting Room

Darcy stands when Ilpholin does, with the intention of following her out.

[ThePhantom]

(The catwalks left with Rogar and Pete, so the lairs are empty.)

[BladeofObliviom]

[Magtok's Office - Necromancer Attack!]

(Still waiting on Murkus)


[Meeting Room]

Cyrus lifts an arm, snaps his fingers, and writes a quick message on the notepad that appears before him. Then it suddenly bursts into flame, and is gone.

"I've sent the order through. Check the public armory in a few hours, and the promised magic items will be present."

The supplies in question are excellent in both quantity and quality, though limited to medieval levels of technology. Magical swords and bows of any type one could imagine are available, along with plenty of suits of chainmail and plate armor of varying levels of protection. A few slightly more nuanced items are also available, including a supply of the hellfire grenades that he had supplied Prometheus with just before the revolution, and a few pairs of the type of magic-viewing goggles that he's been supplying to the Cat Burglar.


Bowels of the Base

It had been a while since an erstwhile ally had been removed from the base, and his projects, while usually flawed, had been interesting. He wasn't around here anymore, and surely he wouldn't mind if those same projects were put to better use than simply lying around, right?

Such was Cyrus' train of thought as he reached the place where Prometheus' lab was sealed off from the rest of the base with concrete. The teleporter wouldn't let the planeswalker in because there was nobody on the other side to approve entry, but that's hardly an unsurmountable obstacle to a mighty sorcerer!

And thus it was that a gout of hellfire met concrete, attempting to melt a path right through it.

[Reinholdt]

[Meeting Room]

"Good." She tells Cyrus, before making a shooing motion with her hands for any stragglers. "Get to work." She says, before going to exit the meeting room herself.

[Main Room]

"Mmm... that's ok." Ilpholin says before looking at Koro. "Just don't leave AMEN."

She glances back to Darcy. "They'll live. Don't worry about it." Grumpy bears greeting people in the Main Room is effective enough she supposes.

[Ilpholin's Office]

"Now I interview you." Taking Clegg's form, she looks it over, raising an eyebrow. "You aren't sure about your own age or species?"

[Gullara]

[Main Room]

Koro snorts a small cloud of poisonous gas, the only sign of acknowledgement she'll get out of him.

[Hattish Thing]

[Meeting Room]

"Good." She tells Cyrus, before making a shooing motion with her hands for any stragglers. "Get to work." She says, before going to exit the meeting room herself.

[Main Room]

"Mmm... that's ok." Ilpholin says before looking at Koro. "Just don't leave AMEN."

She glances back to Darcy. "They'll live. Don't worry about it." Grumpy bears greeting people in the Main Room is effective enough she supposes.

[Ilpholin's Office]

"Now I interview you." Taking Clegg's form, she looks it over, raising an eyebrow. "You aren't sure about your own age or species?"

He growls and frowns. It....I too' a bi' 'o' a blow t' th' head when I fell off th' cliff. I....can't remember my age...I used t' be human, thi' I know. Now....I think I'm undea'. Cursed.

[ThePhantom]

Mr E's room

Mr E frowns as he listens in on Ilpholin's closing remarks.

"Whipping up a plague are you? Well, that won't do at all."

Mr E stands up from his chair and paces.

"But how to throw a wrench in this plot, without exposing myself? I could maybe lead the brat to it, but that takes time. Messing with the cure is right out, what to do, what to do...."

[ThirdEmperor]

Meeting Room

The Cat Burglar doesn't need telling twice, he's out of the room and heading out of the base entirely before the doors have stopped swinging.

Main Room

"Uhm..." The Cat Burglar stalls, weighing the options. "Well, you'd be helping AMEN by helping me carry out the boss-lady's orders?" Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. "Er, I could also pay for whatever materials it cost you?"

Abandoned Lab

The concrete sizzles and melts away like butter, Cyrus' hellfire forming the proverbial warm knife as it carves an entranceway out of the blank gray wall and the machinery hidden within. Little stubs of cauterized wire and drips of liquified crystal join the melted stone, the remains of the teleporter he just sliced in half.

The room beyond is no more welcoming than the blank wall cordoning it off, a sparsely furnished fifteen by fifteen cube. There's a cot in one corner with a dresser at it's foot, a desk in the corner opposite and a semi-circle of workbenches at the center, all lit by a bare bulb suspended from the ceiling. Most jail cells could be ascribed a more personal touch and greater joviality.

There's no far wall, only a railing looking over the room below and a narrow stone staircase leading down.

The worktables are still cluttered with scraps of metal, spare parts and discarded tools, but much of that is on the ground now, the piles clearly searched through in a great hurry. The same is true for the dresser, the drawers pulled out and emptied.

[BladeofObliviom]

[Meeting Room]

Cyrus is shooed out along with the rest! He soon disappears from sight, probably to go do something heinous. Or maybe get drunk and fall asleep on the couch. Never can tell with him.


Abandoned Lab

Hmm. Seems Prometheus was in a hurry to leave! Or maybe he's just this messy naturally.

In any case, Cyrus leaves the makeshift death-tunnel of improbable heat level and begins scouring the workbenches for anything of potential value, especially any blueprints, unfinished projects, or engineering briefs that might explain just what any of these things were supposed to do.

He doesn't think to check the cot or dresser, but he did prepare for any bulky items he might have to carry away! Enter the glorious Bag of Holding, the eternally useful adventurer's staple and magical item with a very silly name!

[Zefir]

Main Room

CB is right to assume that. Zefir asks himself why Illophen wouldn't cal him directly if such things are needed so he don't belives it.

"You and I , and maybe many other people know that money isn't something to worry about. I would more like to get something in exchange."

[ThirdEmperor]

Main Room

Figures. Even though the Cat Burglar is acting on Ilpholin's orders, he doubts Zefir would care and isn't about to bother convincing him. "Fine, uh, tell you what. I'm cracking this vault, magic items and stuff. You can have first pick on 'em." Hopefully the boss won't mind this too much. Two people getting a share is still less than the original three.

Abandoned Laboratory

Prometheus? Naturally messy? This is a man who combs his hair by alphabetic order. The mess is someone else's fault.

Thing is, everything finished is gone. The blueprints likewise. What's left behind is scraps- Bits of iron twisted into crude parts and left unassembled, circuit boards not quite imprinted, the occasional chunk of working machinery with no clear purpose. That latter is rare.

But there's something more, left alone in the looting. Tucked under the center workbench is the wastepaper basket, filled with rejected designs, half-finished sketches, lopsided, scratched out scribbles and notes filled with so much jargon they might as well be in another language.

[Zefir]

Main Room

Zefir stands up and walks over to CB.

"That sounds well. I think we should go now and discuss it futher."

It's not like he will go with the CB, but after all there are cameras all around here.

[ThirdEmperor]

Main Room

"Uhm..." The Cat Burglar clearly isn't following, his always tenuous attempt at a smile turning into a confused grimace. "I'm, uh, I'm kinda confused here. I thought we had worked it out, like, just a second ago?"

[Zefir]

Main Room

Zefir sights and shows him to follow.

"Yes that's right, but I still wanted to get some more details."

[happyturtle]

Ilpholin's Room

Darcy's two plot clones merge, and she leaves Koro behind to go with Ilpholin to her room to talk. Assuming Ilpholin agrees, Darcy will wait until the door is closed to ask, "Why are you doing this?"